Another birthday... Another year older! Well, its better than the alternative! :)

Thanks to everyone who remembered my birthday and sent emails, text messages and e-cards. Special thanks to Patrick, Sandra (love the Hk stuff and book you sent) , Raquel(finally got to open the gifts you sent early this year for my bday) , Benz (will certainly enjoy shopping with the GC) and Pebbles (love the Precious Moments Christmas Village building you sent!). :0)


I spent my birthday at home in my pajamas all day. I caught the flu Monday night after the extreme change in weather earlier so I was just achy and miserable Monday night and I knew that by Tuesday, my actual birthday (Aug 21st), I will still be feeling unwell. We canceled our dinner reservations since it wont be a good dining experience for me anyway, given the fact that I was sick. I didn't even feel like getting up to change and get dressed so going to a fancy restaurant was the last thing on my mind. Anyway, I settled for a cup of chicken noodle soup and some crackers. Then we had cake the next day (the 22nd) when I was feeling a bit better. Patrick had the cake made with a princess standing beside a green frog. He said he is the froggie who is a prince in disguise. :0) The cake was cute and yummy too. Nothing fancy but the cake is so moist and the filling is my favorite (vanilla cheesecake filling).

Thanks again to everyone who remembered my birthday and sent their greetings!

Dulcinea is a popular restaurant/cafe in the Philippines and I have a lot of wonderful childhood memories of having breakfast and merienda cena with my parents at that restaurant. Even when I was in college, my parents and I would have breakfast there before they drop me off at AC.

Anyway, this entry is not really about the restaurant but about the song from the play Man of La Mancha, the song is entitled Dulcinea and its about this woman that the character Don Quixote in the play is in love with. I love plays specially Broadway shows and though Man of La Mancha is not really one of my favorite plays/story, I love the song.

I was watching the Ally Mcbeal DVD the other week and she sang the song in one of the episodes and I am reminded of the song. Here is the lyrics to the song...

I have dreamed thee too long,
Never seen thee or touched thee.
But known thee with all of my heart.
Half a prayer, half a song,
Thou hast always been with me,
Though we have been always apart.

Dulcinea... Dulcinea...
I see heaven when I see thee, Dulcinea,
And thy name is like a prayer
An angel whispers... Dulcinea... Dulcinea!

If I reach out to thee,
Do not tremble and shrink
From the touch of my hand on thy hair.
Let my fingers but see
Thou art warm and alive,
And no phantom to fade in the air.

Dulcinea... Dulcinea...
I have sought thee, sung thee,
Dreamed thee, Dulcinea!

Now I've found thee,
And the world shall know thy glory,
Dulcinea... Dulcinea!

Its strikes me as a really heartfelt song someone can sing when they are searching or hoping for love or have found that love but still finding the way to having that love reciprocated and fulfilled. :)

A friend and fellow w@wie, Cherryl mentioned that she saw our DVD menu shot in Jason Magbanua's site. I wasn't sure where Che saw it so I asked for the link and she sent me this:
http://myweddingvid.com/images//DVD_MENUS_03/
target1.html

And yes... thats me alright. :)

Thanks, Che for pointing it out to me and for the compliments.

May we all have a peaceful, happy, blessed, healthy and prosperous 2007!

Thanksgiving is over and Christmastime is here. I have managed to put up the 7 ft tree, decorate it and hanged all the ornaments. Ive put a wreath by our bay window and a talking snowman right by the door. Santa and Mrs. Claus sits by the front porch window and some Christmas stockings made of aluminum hanging by our mail box. Ive also added another wreath with lights right beside the door. Ive been meaning to set up the Christmas village set beside the tree and add more decorations but I dont have the strength and energy to do that at this moment. But today is November 30th and tomorrow is December 1st already so whether I like it or not, I have to work on the finishing touches of our decorations before the week is over. :) I really dont mind though since Im really a Christmasy person. Christmas is my favorite time of the year. Still working on the Christmas tree, I still need to hang some more ornaments and fix the trimmings and decorations.

We are spending Thanksgiving at Patrick's mom's place. I am bringing the pumpkin pie I baked last night and we are also bringing some grapes and pound cake. Its going to be a small gathering because there's just 7 of us who will be having Thanksgiving dinner together.

Went to Boston with Patrick for some business matters. Here are some pictures taken during our 4 days stay in Boston. We didn't really get to do a lot of dining and visiting around because of the schedule we had to follow the whole time we were there. It was also cold and damp, raining all the time we were there so as much as I can, I just stayed indoors and tried to rest in the hotel room. Here is a view of the busy streets of Boston outside our hotel room ... The Boston trip was so frantic and hectic. I didnt sleep well because the hotel where we stayed is right in the middle of the busiest streets of Boston. We were 5 minutes away from Harvard/MIT campus and the Harvard Conference Center where the convention was held and there was a hospital right across the hotel where we stayed so I would hear the sound of siren blasting every now and then and the sound of cars honking their horns as early as 5 am. The drive back from Boston to PA was just terrible. Traffic was bad, there was a lot of construction and we had to change route several times. We got lost and missed our exits several times, making us very frustrated and tired. It took us longer to get home, it should have just taken us 7 hrs to drive back but it took much longer to get home. Anyway, when we got home, we had about 4 days worth of mail and packages in our mail box and front porch. I found this particular package waiting for me. Its a package from Benz sent through the kindness of Cheryl N. [thanks so much, Che! Appreciate your taking time to bring this to the US, pack it and ship it to me] and this package had tons of goodies for me...
and these...


Hello Kitty goodies and Precious Moments stuff... these are a few of my favorite things!

Thank you so much Benz for the stuff you sent. That's really so sweet of you! It brightened my day and I now look forward to decorating our tree because I have more Precious Moments ornaments to hang. :)

I was really exhausted and cranky the other night. I was so irritable that I snapped at Patrick for reasons I no longer remember. I think I asked him to do something and he didnt do it right away (perhaps, something to do with garbage or setting the table for dinner?), so I snapped and was really agitated about it. He then turned to me, looked at me and said and I quote:
" Even if you put me inside a well, hold me captive there and just feed me dirty potatoes... I'd still love you." Of course he said this with this "pity me" look. Then we both broke into laughter! We were laughing so hard, tears were coming out of my eyes. Patrick has his way of making me laugh and feel silly when Im grumpy and tired. So after that very cute statement from Patrick and that much needed laugh, I was feeling better and a little less grumpy. :)

Here is another pre-mission interview from the mind of Stuffed Toy Commander, Patrick G.
=====
An Interview With Nurse Boomer, the Kangaroo...
August 21, 1999

This is Sam Duckson, coming to you
live from the underground bunker of
Stuffed Toy Commander Patrick
Giagnocavo, with the second in our
profiles of "courageous stuffed toys".

Tonight, we are talking with Nurse Boomer, the Kangaroo.
Nurse Boomer always has Joey, her son, with her in her pouch.

Nurse Boomer originally took care of the other toys in the box
at Wal-Mart, and once healing them all, she realized that there
was much more to do in the world, and many more she could
bring her wisdom, love and talent for healing hearts to.

Stuffed Toy Commander Patrick Giagnocavo recruited her,
and she is now about to be shipped to a secret location
somewhere near the dangerous suburbs of Manila, Philippines.

Q.  Please tell us a little more about your duties and where you
are being posted.

A.  Well, my duties are to heal those I am assigned to.
Sometimes this means bandages and aspirin, sometimes this
means hugs and kisses; sometimes, too, it means just listening
to my patient while sitting silently.

Q.  We understand that you have been assigned to work with
Tuck the Guard Turtle - can you tell us a little more about that?

A.  As you know Sam I can't discuss the particulars of any
assignment.  I can state however that Tuck and I will be working
together.  I am to be given charge of a beautiful young woman
who needs my care.

Q.  How do you hope to effect healing in this particular case?

A.  Well, the case history I have indicates 100 milliliters of the
heart strengthener "iluvyu" every hour, backed up by 4 kisses
every three hours, and one hug per hour.
That's a start, althoughI expect to add some cuteness, smiles,
and twinkly-eyeness later on. Our objective is nothing less than
a completely healed, radiant young woman, healthy, happy
and whole.

Q.  You do face some dangers though don't you?

A.  Yes, that IS why Tuck was sent first.  I can't directly fight
the Terrible Lonelies - I can only strengthen the young woman's
immune system from some of their evil weapons, like the
"Cutting Words knife", and especially "Cold Hearted Gas" -
which is very dangerous, because it can poison the entire
atmosphere between two or more people!

Q.  My goodness (interviewer blanches)! That sounds terrible!

A.  It certainly is, Sam, and we're seeing a lot of it these days.
I wish I never have to treat another case.  It just shrivels the
heart.  Only the fact that I am especially trained for this task
allows me to face it.

Q.  You have a tough job ahead of you Nurse Boomer.
God Speed on your assignment!

This is Sam Duckson, with a report from the front lines on the
war against the Terrible Lonelies.

I was going through my old emails and found some of the emails that Patrick had sent me many years ago. He would send me stuffed toys and then he comes up with a pre-mission interview with the stuffed toys as if those little plushies are really being sent out on a real mission. Anyway, read the text of the pre-mission interview of Tuck, the Guard Turtle written and conducted by Stuffed Toy Commander Patrick Giagnocavo.

===========================
Note from Sam Duckson, Interviewer:
August 14th 1999

In our continuing series of profiles on
"courageous stuffed toys" we would like to
bring you today the story of Tuck,
the Guard Turtle.

Recently retired from a tour of duty at
a local Wal-Mart department store here in
Ephrata, PA, by Stuffed Toy Commander
Patrick Giagnocavo, this courageous but
rather slow-moving toy immediately requested
assignment for a "dangerous mission involving
international air travel, with an ultimate
destination in the mysterious,
uncharted suburbs of the city of Manila,
in the Philippines."

We were able to talk to Tuck for a few moments
before he prepared to "ship out".

Q. Tuck, why would you request re-assignment
immediately after your first tour of duty?

A.  Well, I like to lead a life of adventure
and intrique - Wal-Mart just wasn't exciting
enough for me,and the fluorescent lights gave
me a headache by the end of the day.

Every night, under cover of darkness, I would try
to make it to the Pharmacy aisle so that I could
get some aspirin, however, I was never able to
move fast enough to avoid the night watchman
and was captured and returned to the toy aisle.

Q. What do you hope to accomplish in Paranaque?

A.  I am unable to confirm or deny my ultimate
destination, Sam, you know that.

However, suffice it to say that there is a
very wonderful young lady who needs my protection
from a Lonely Heart when her boyfriend is not
around. I hope to be able to provide some comfort
by standing guard during the night for her.

Q.  Isn't it true that Lonely Hearts are very
dangerous for young women?

A.  Yes Sam, it certainly is.
With my soft velvety covering, my cute black eyes,
and the hint of a smile on my face, I hope to be
able to guard against the Terrible Lonelies -
they won't get past me, as long as the young lady
keeps me in view!

Certainly, a Lonely Heart is one of the most
dangerous weapons those Terrible Lonelies have
against young women.

Q.  I notice that you have rather large,
soft, floppy flippers and a cute stubby tail
as well.

A.  Of course!  All the better to gently fit
in the hand of the sweet young lady, and keep
me from rolling around when she puts me down!

Q.  Why were you chosen to lead the initial
foray into this dangerous, mysterious area?

A.  Well, Sam, I am quite frankly a cute little
fellow, completely harmless looking.
This will help us going in - we'll seem to be
nothing more than a "toy" if you will -
not the beginnings of a powerful
"love and kindness force" to be deployed later
once our Fearless Leader, Stuffed Toy Commander
Patrick, gives the signal.

Q.  Where in the young lady's room do you expect
to be deployed?

A.  Exact tactical deployment will be determined
once we arrive at the site to be protected.
The Terrible Lonelies have no doubt carefully
examined the room already and staked out their
positions. We'll have to adjust to that fact once
we get "touch down".

Q.  Tuck, thanks for your time,
and Godspeed to you on your important mission!

This is Sam Duckson, signing off -
tune in next week for more
"Profiles in Stuffed Toy Courage".

I turned 30! Its an end of an era in my life. I feel so much older perhaps because 30 seem to be so far away when I was in my teens and twenties. I used to relate the age 30 with maturity, self-fulfillment and security -- financially, career-wise and serious relationships and or raising a family of your own. I feel old but Im still as childlike as always but the concept of mortality and the nagging health issues Ive been having these past few months bother me a lot.

For my 30th birthday, Patrick and I took the afternoon off and decided to go to King of Prussia. Then we had a late lunch at The Bamboo Club Asian Bistro. The restaurant is known for its amazing Asian cuisine and ambience. Patrick gave me a shopping spree at the Sanrio store (I didnt buy a lot, I was not in a shopping mood on my birthday!), he also gave me a bouquet of roses. Then, we visited more shops, I got to do some early Christmas shopping and then we had light dinner at The Cheesecake Factory Restaurant because we wanted to have room for dessert. We split an appetizer and had a slice of cheescake each. Patrick ordered the original style cheesecake while I had a brownie sundae mousse cheesecake. Yum, yum! Then we went home. That was pretty much how my birthday was! We got home sometime after 10 pm. When I checked our answering machine for messages, I was glad to hear that several people from different corners of the US and the Philippines called to greet me a Happy Birthday. My cellphone was full of messages too and some people emailed as well.

So thank you to all of you who remembered my birthday. Big thanks to Patrick --for making my birthday fun and all the hot pink and silver gifts, add to that the Hello Kitty lap desk and micro fiber blanket, Sandra --for the Grey's Anatomy DVD, Precious moments figurine and Hello Kitty notepad, Benz, John and Kite -- your gift is a delight! It will be a nice touch in our Hello Kitty themed bathroom, Raquel -- for the Hello Kitty overnight bag, my sister and family -- the nice blouse, Peachy Pie -- for calling and chatting with me even if you are paying for the overseas call. Thanks again, everyone!

Being thirty makes me want to make changes, good changes in life, I have a long list of the things I should do, achieve, improve and even get rid of. I'll let you know how that turns out. In the meantime, I know that the following weeks will be a series of medical related activities. Im not looking forward to that but Im hoping for good results.

Its the eve before my birthday... I'm almost thirty! Well, its an end of an era, gone are the days when Im twenty-something.

In my 20's ...

I earned my college degree (was 19 yrs and 7 months when I graduated)
I got my first job
I put up a small business
I helped raise my nieces
I lost my dad
I moved to Pennsylvania, USA
I visited and explored a lot of the states in the US
I became independent
I took my masters degree in the US
I have had some harsh realizations in life
I got published (articles and write ups)
I lost some and gained some friends near and far
I met a wonderful man who became very special to me
I have more medical issues
I solidified a handful of friendships that will last a lifetime
I fell in love, got engaged and got married

That pretty much sums up my life in my 20's...

So as the gate to my 30's is opened, I can only hope for better things, lasting friendships, happy marriage, growth and wonderful memories!

Ive been stuck at home all day, feeling achey all over, with stuffy nose, headache and scratchy throat. It started Monday night when I felt a cold was coming, I took Airborne and loaded up on vitamin C. I know it wasn't going to prevent it or cure it but Im hoping that it will lessen the severity and shorten the duration of the symptoms of a bad cold or flu.

I went ahead and followed my Tuesday schedule, ending the day with a quick to the salon. Ive been meaning to get a haircut for the longest time so I set the appointment last weekend and decided that though I am fighting the sniffles, I should just go ahead and show up at the salon. So I had a haircut - chopped 6 inches from my hair. Its still long though despite all that hair gone, it can still be tied up on a pony tail and its still a few inches past my shoulder. Im turning a year older next week and wanted to welcome that with a haircut. hahaha! :0) Had my brows waxed too and in half an hour, I was done and off to meet the tub of hub a.k.a. Patrick.

We decided to have dinner at Macaroni Grill and after waiting for 15 minutes, we were finally seated. Since I wasn't feeling well, I decided to just got a big bowl of their pesto mushroom soup and Patrick had their chicken salad.

So we had a nice dinner until it was time to get our check. It took a long time before the server brought our check and when it finally came, Patrick slipped his credit card in that black leatherette folder where they had the check. The server came and took the folder and then the long wait starts. It took her forever to bring us back Patrick's card. After about 15 minutes of waiting, the manager approached us to tell us that the server lost Patrick's card and that he and the other servers will be looking for it. So we had to keep waiting... we waited for another 20 or so minutes until we both felt it was time to go. They have not found the card and so its probably the case that someone picked it up and didn't surrender it to an employee. So we left and as soon as we got home, Patrick reported the card as missing and cancelled it.

We didnt hear back from the Macaroni Grill manager who said that he was going to call as soon as he finds it.

Now, not only was the server not apologetic (in fact, she even tried to avoid us after the manager revealed that she -- the server, lost our card), they didnt even offer us something while we waited. Not even coffee or tea or dessert... not that we wanted to take advantage or we needed anything but it would have been nice if they offered since they were causing the delay to begin with.

Anyway, so Patrick is waiting for that replacement credit card and I hope it arrives soon.